英语文学赏读资料整理-doc.docx

FOLKLORE: fable, fairytale, myth Folklore is oral literature (intangible cultural heritage). Other types of folklore include traditional customs, superstitions, dances, legends, riddles, proverbs, games, rituals and songs that have been adopted and maintained within a given community by process of repetition and oral transmission. Folklore in particular implies the commonly shared knowledge of pre-literate societies or under-literate social classes All these genres refer to the collective memory of a people handed down orally to help shape a common identity Definition of “mythology”: The sum total of myths, traditional stories about gods, kings and heroes. Mythology often relates the creation of the world as well as its destruction. It also depicts the relationships between various gods and between gods and humans, and deals with the significant aspects of human and super-human existence. Myths are usually distinguished from legends in that the former has less of an historical basis. Myths: popular tales that embody a collective knowledge; they were an important part of the oral tradition. Three principle categories: pure myth, heroic saga, and the folk tale For one thing, myths are magnificent literature in their written form. For another, they formed the basis of a humanistic education throughout the ancient world and from the late Middle Ages down to the 20th century. For yet more, they show us the marvels that existed long before scientific reasoning shed its progressive light on our perceptions. Fable: What characteristics? a short story, often but not necessarily about animals, illustrating a piece of popular wisdom, or satirizing human behaviors. Fables often conclude with a moral, delivered in the form of an epigram, a proverb or a maxim. As a very old form of story related to folklore and proverbs, the fable in Europe tales is attributed to Aesop (6th century B.C.). Allegory 寓意，托喻(手法，文体) A device of representation that uses apparent char